Cunningham Falsely Claims He Skipped WLOS Debate Because It Was “Short Notice” And “Conflicted” With His Schedule

July 29, 2020
For Immediate Release

Raleigh, NC - During an interview with WRAL’s David Crabtree that aired last night, Cal Cunningham said the reason he ducked a debate with WLOS-Asheville was that it was “a very short notice invitation that conflicted” with his schedule.  

First off, WLOS’ debate invite (see below) was sent to each Senate campaign on July 6th and offered two potential date options - July 24th and July 31st. Unless what Cunningham meant by a "conflict" was his virtual fundraiser with a left-wing, out of state group that he participated in last week, the reality is that he did not have an in-person event on his public schedule that would prevent him from attending the WLOS debate last Friday (July 24th). The same is true for this coming Friday (July 31).  

NCGOP Spokesman Tim Wigginton said in response, “Cal Cunningham is so afraid to discuss his record of tax hikes and Paycheck Protection Program hypocrisy that he is making up false excuses for not debating Senator Tillis. It’s time for Cunningham to stop hiding behind slick campaign ads from outside groups, come out of Chuck Schumer’s windowless basement and honor his pledge to debate Senator Tillis five times.” 

Cunningham agreed to debate Senator Tillis five times back in January. The Tillis campaign has moved commitments multiple times to get debates scheduled. They believe that debates are the safest way to provide the opportunity for the voters to get to actually hear from the candidates in light of COVID-19.

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